IIED at Climate Week NYC 2024

Conference

IIED and partners highlighted practical strategies towards achieving net zero at Climate Week NYC in September.

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In person only
Last updated 18 October 2024
Person hold up sign saying 'The climate is changing, why aren't we?'.

There is an urgent need for investment in clean energy and net zero technologies (Photo: Markus Spiske, via Unsplash)

Climate Weeek NYC logo.

Organised in parallel with the Summit of the Future in September 2024, Climate Week NYC brought together business leaders, political decision makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives to drive the transition towards a greener future.

This year’s theme was time, and discussions focused on the urgent need for investment in clean energy and net zero technologies.

With more than 600 side events from 22-29 September, the conference focused on highlighting key actors that are driving a rapid transition, and convincing hesitant companies and governments to start taking action now.

IIED supported initiatives that are implementing practical strategies towards achieving net zero, combining research and locally-developed approaches to address the combined challenges of climate change and inequality.

During this year’s climate week, IIED and partners hosted events sharing research and evidence with key stakeholders from government, funders and the private sector, on how to deliver effective climate action and build resilient prosperity.

The Summit of the Future and Climate Week NYC were key milestones on the path toward transforming the international financial architecture, leading up to COP29 later this year and the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025, when crucial decisions on financial reforms will be made.

Events

Tuesday 24 September

Action greater than the sum of the parts: systems change collaboration

Hosted by: The Systemic Climate Action Collaborative
Speakers: Kirsten Dunlop, Climate-KIC; Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, Open Origin and Shakti Regeneration Institute; Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Tsao Pao Chee; Vincent Pieribone, OceanX

Despite intensifying warnings from the IPCC, visible signs of climate change and escalating biodiversity loss, our efforts to halt and reverse global warming and adaptation to its adverse effects remain dangerously insufficient. An emergent collaborative framework aimed at shifting the current power dynamics from servicing individual projects to creating the conditions for joined-up action across sectors – from the few to the many – is urgently needed to proactively address the world’s polycrisis. 

The Systemic Climate Action Collaborative was designed to address fragmentation, competition and insufficient funding for systemic transformation: the key barriers that limit us from achieving the paradigm shift needed to address climate change. The collaborative brings together leading foundations, philanthropists, corporations, public institutions and other donors, to commit significant funding for climate action through systemic transformation.

This event saw thoughtful discussions and insights on how a new form of collaboration can emerge to solve the most pressing challenges of our time.


Wednesday 25 September

Charting a ‘roadmap’ for delivering resilience through ‘anticipatory social protection’

Hosted by: ALL ACT, Comic Relief, IIED

It is projected that climate change could push an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty, drive 130 million more into chronic hunger, and result in the global loss of 72 million full-time jobs by 2030. In light of these dire projections, there is an urgent need to enhance resilience, particularly in the least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

To address these challenges, IIED developed the ASPIRE (Anticipatory Social Protection Index for Resilience) diagnostic tool, part of the ALL ACT (Alliance for Locally Led Transformative Resilience to Loss and Damage) initiative. This tool has been through an analysis of eight countries – Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and India – representing a diverse range of climate risk contexts.

Within each of these countries, three social protection programmes were assessed, encompassing different delivery mechanisms such as public works, food and in-kind assistance, and cash transfers. The findings have laid the foundation for understanding the key gaps and challenges that impede the integration of anticipatory response in social protection programmes.

This event focused on translating the ASPIRE toolkit-based analysis into a comprehensive roadmap for scaling up anticipatory social protection.

Watch an edited video recording of this entire event

LDCs and SIDS dialogue on good adaptation finance practices

Hosted by: IIED, E3G, SSN

Adaptation finance is central to action on climate change, yet it often fails to adequately reach those who need it the most. SIDS and LDCs, among the most vulnerable to climate impacts, struggle not only with securing adequate financing but also with accessing equitable finance that aligns with their needs and national priorities.

Recognising the urgency of transforming adaptation finance delivery, the LDC Group, AOSIS and the Champions Group on Adaptation Finance jointly called for an evidence review of effective adaptation finance practices from the perspective of both the fund provider and recipient.

This event presented the key findings emerging from the evidence review, featuring speakers from both donor and recipient countries. The aim is to encourage a collaborative dialogue that will strengthen partnerships and explore sustainable, long-term solutions for adaptation finance for SIDS and LDCs. 

This dialogue was followed by a networking lunch dedicated to Brain Trust – a voluntary group of technical experts from policy, finance and development across the global South and North dedicated to enhancing the Climate and Development Ministerial process through external technical input, guidance and accountability.

The Missing Trillions

Hosted by: The Systemic Climate Action Collaborative and Metabolic

A decarbonised global economy requires a sustainable pace of unprecedented investment. Although there’s been rapid growth, we are still far short of US$4.5T per year needed to stay within a 1.5°C pathway consistent with the Paris Agreement.

The Missing Trillions is an initiative aimed at driving systemic risks and opportunities in climate finance. Over the past year, the initiative has been exploring overlooked leverage points that can accelerate the climate finance gap. During this time, it has developed a process and convened working groups to identify high-leverage investments interventions at the intersection of systems thinking and transition finance. The methodology uses systems thinking to develop actionable strategies that resonate with a broad spectrum of capital: public, private and philanthropic.

This event provided space for a structured exploration of systemic risks, barriers and opportunities in climate finance. The panel of expert practitioners dived into four promising solutions to identify new pathways for collaboration and scale. Participants were invited to share promising initiatives they are working on and make calls for collaborations.

This insights to date from the Missing Trillions were also opened to the public for critical feedback, partnership development, and implementation pathways. Visit the Systemic Climate Action Collaborative website for more information. 

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